Feds oppose bid to delay BP rig supervisors’ trial

NEW ORLEANS — Justice Department prosecutors have urged a federal judge to reject a request to postpone the manslaughter trial of two BP supervisors who worked on the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

In a court filing Tuesday, prosecutors said lawyers for Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine have ample time to prepare for a trial scheduled to start on Jan. 13.

Defense attorneys have asked for a nine-month delay, saying they need more time to review millions of pages of documents provided by the government.

Kaluza and Vidrine pleaded not guilty last year to charges they botched a key safety test and disregarded abnormally high pressure readings that were glaring signs of trouble before the blowout of BP’s Macondo well. Eleven workers died in the subsequent explosion.